How can you say that absolutely with Ponds and Simon on the roster? We were 4-1 when Lovett played 25 or less minutes and 2-1 when he didn't played at all. That was almost half of our wins.
Ponds will easily be one of the ten best PGs nationally next year IMO and Simon was ranked #35 (ahead of Lovett) overall in 2015. It's almost like you are assuming he'll be a bust because
of our luck. What if he's an animal like Owens? How many pts would a defensive stopper that hits the glass, didn't fall after every layup, got back on D, and could handle his own getting caught dow low with a wing or big on a switch makeup from this past squad? We couldn't stop anyone this year. The dual mighty mouse backcourt (which I do love) only works if they can be physical and play above average D. That will never be Lovett's game. Simon is 35 lbs heavier and 7 inches taller. How many minutes do you think Lovett would have played at Arizona as a 160 lb true freshman with Jackson-Cartwright, Alonzo Trier, Gabe York, and Kadeem Allen? We're talking about the highest rated kid we've had here (tied with Dom) in 20 years!
Any transfer that came here with Ponds, Lovett, and Simon each having three years left would have needed their head checked. It will still be a hard sell without Lovett, but it opens
the door a bit--especially for a "pure" point.
Lovett leaving being a bad thing has little to do with how good Ponds and Simon are. They can be great players and we could still be a really good team without Lovett. Lovett returning wouldn't take any minutes away from either. His minutes would come at the expense of Ellison and Mussini (if both stay). There's no way having Ellison or Mussini on the court over Lovett makes us better.
With basketball continuing to evolve into a more guard oriented game, having Lovett, Ponds and Simon on the court at the same time would be a very solid backcourt and still allows us to go big or small at the 4/5 as Simon has the size and athleticism to defend 3s. If that lineup isn't getting the job done on defense you can still only play 2 out of the 3 on the court at the same time without having to cut their minutes all that much.
Also, saying Ponds will easily be a top 10 PG nationally next year is a ridiculous thing to say considering he's not even a true PG and we'd be much better off with him playing the 2.
Time will tell. Basketball is about the sum being greater than the parts. I wish we could
trade past and current players. Lovett would have been great on the Felipe teams (Turner was awful)...Pointer's wasted junior year with Lavin using him exclusively on the perimeter
could have put this team on the bubble. Owens on the Elite Eight squad? We could have had three Lovetts this past season and not won more than 14-15 games.
We have plenty of shooting, dribble penetration, and passing...we need size, strength, defense,
and rebounding. I posted throughout the season that our best option was always Ponds. He's creates better looks, he delivers passes that are easier to handle, he plays under more
Control and at a better pace, and he is a better shooter than Lovett. Take away Ponds and
it's a different story. You need to recognize this kid's greatness. If he realizes his defensive potential, he's the Big East P.O.Y..